The Doors surviving members’ legal dispute ends.
The California Supreme Court has refused to hear their case.
Two Doors survivors were being sued by a third. Keyboardist Ray Manzarek and guitarist Robby Krieger were facing "The End" after being found by lower courts to have improperly used The Doors name and images during a 2003 tour.
After the high court declined to hear their appeal, they’ll have to pay drummer John Densmore, late singer Jim Morrison‘s parents and the parents of Morrison’s wife, Pamela Courson $3.2 million in damages plus a another $2 mill in legal fees.
In 1970, the four original band mates signed an agreement that any business deal would have to be agreed upon unanimously.
The case stems from the fact Densmore declined to join the others in 2002 when they wanted to tour as The Doors. Densmore didn’t object at the time as long as they a) didn’t call themselves The Doors b) didn’t display any Morrison era psychedelic imagery.
The two went on the road as The Doors of the 21st Century with "of the 21st Century" writ tiny anyway.
"You can’t call yourselves The Doors because you can’t have The Doors without Jim Morrison," Densmore’s attorney said. Morrison died in France in 1971.
FYI: The group took their name from Adolus Huxley‘s book The Doors of Perception.
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